Light Rail Network For Korat

I read in the BP this-morning that a Light Rail Network is being planned for Korat. The article is worth a read as it gives a bit more detail than that. Whilst construction won't begin for two or three years, when/if it does, you Korat residents are going to be subjected to some serious road and traffic snarl-ups, I suspect. The planned completion date is some 11 or 12 years away - and probably subject to slippage. At 15 Bn Baht that's half the cost of a submarine, I think - and rather better value IMO!

I read in the BP this-morning that a Light Rail Network is being planned for Korat. The article is worth a read as it gives a bit more detail than that. Whilst construction won't begin for two or three years, when/if it does, you Korat residents are going to be subjected to some serious road and traffic snarl-ups, I suspect. The planned completion date is some 11 or 12 years away - and probably subject to slippage. At 15 Bn Baht that's half the cost of a submarine, I think - and rather better value IMO!

Nothing new here they were talking about building a Light Railway system before Korat hosted the SEA Games in 2007.

Hopefully this time they will go beyond talking

“Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘Holy shit…what a ride!” - Hunter S. Thompson

I read in the BP this-morning that a Light Rail Network is being planned for Korat. The article is worth a read as it gives a bit more detail than that. Whilst construction won't begin for two or three years, when/if it does, you Korat residents are going to be subjected to some serious road and traffic snarl-ups, I suspect. The planned completion date is some 11 or 12 years away - and probably subject to slippage. At 15 Bn Baht that's half the cost of a submarine, I think - and rather better value IMO!

Nothing new here they were talking about building a Light Railway system before Korat hosted the SEA Games in 2007.

Hopefully this time they will go beyond talking

Thailand is the worlds leader for talking,forming commitees and doing Sweet FA

A 15-billion-baht light rail network is likely to be developed to accommodate commuters in Nakhon Ratchasima's Muang district. Construction is due to start in 2020, with operations potentially commencing by 2023.

The Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) has hired Suranaree University of Technology to conduct a feasibility study to develop the mass-transit system.

The project consultant has proposed developing a light rail system with three routes spanning 54.4 kilometres. The OTP committee supervising the study recently approved a preliminary version of the report.

The three initial routes would be: a 15-km Orange Line operating as a loop in the inner area; a 23-km Green Line linking Khok Kruat to Cho Ho; and a 16.4km Purple Line linking Save One market to Cho Ho.

The light rail development project is divided into three phases.

The first phase involves design and construction of the Orange Line and the Green Line, with design beginning in 2019 and operations starting in 2023 at the earliest.

The second phase entails design and construction of the Purple Line for which construction is expected to start in 2023 and operations to begin in 2026.

The final phase covers design and construction of extended routes which are expected to be operational in 2029 at the earliest.

The government has been advised to invest in construction and development of infrastructure while operations and maintenance should be carried out in a public-private partnership format.

A 15-billion-baht light rail network is likely to be developed to accommodate commuters in Nakhon Ratchasima's Muang district. Construction is due to start in 2020, with operations potentially commencing by 2023.

According to Transport Minister Arkhom Termpitayapaisith, the projects are part of the Transport Ministry's big-ticket transport infrastructure plan in 2018. A public-private partnership (PPP) programme will be applied for the investment in the four projects.

"The government is hopeful that construction of those four projects could commence next year in a bid to reduce traffic congestion in those cities," he said.

(...)

Meanwhile, Mr Chaiwat said the OTP has already completed a design for Nakhon Ratchasima's light rail project worth an estimated 15 billion baht. The agency plans to propose the design for the Transport Ministry's approval later this year.

A 15-billion-baht light rail network is likely to be developed to accommodate commuters in Nakhon Ratchasima's Muang district. Construction is due to start in 2020, with operations potentially commencing by 2023.

Now they talk about starting works in 2018 according to this report:

Same concept reiterated here, where they also provide some additional details on similar projects for Phuket, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen, but not for Korat:

Here are bigger versions of two relevant maps that are unreadable in that page because too small. Foreseen stops are shown and named more clearly in the second map than in the description given in that page. If you want the same maps even bigger, follow this link (first map) and this link (second map).

Stations P5 to P8 on purple line cover the critical stretch on Mitthapap, from Tesco Lotus to the Terminal 21 junction. I don't know how the final project will look but I hope they'll take this chance to add one pedestrian bridge at every station.

Here we are in the middle of 2019 and no light rail works started anywhere in Korat until now as far as I know. On the other hand, a segment of median strip of Mitthapap in the critical spot in front of The Mall disappeared to make way to an additional traffic lane. Precisely where the purple line project was supposed to run.

Here we are in the middle of 2019 and no light rail works started anywhere in Korat until now as far as I know. On the other hand, a segment of median strip of Mitthapap in the critical spot in front of The Mall disappeared to make way to an additional traffic lane. Precisely where the purple line project was supposed to run.

Do you think this has been sidelined Anton? With all the major spending on infrastructure elsewhere, perhaps this has been quietly dropped. It might also reflect a more pessimistic view of the future of Korat.

CK, your probably on the right TRACK (pun intended), I could see them waiting until the double track of the 2M state gauge and the High Speed rail (STD Gauge) stations have been built, then loop around the city connecting to those stations and the rest of the city.But I have a funny feeling that this would hit the local baht buses and the intercity buses hard. So probably trying to appease every one and no one gets the benefit. TIT